


A Light In The Dark

by Sashataakheru



Series: Taskmaster Advent Calendar 2018 [1]
Category: Taskmaster (UK TV) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Stockings, Christmas fic, Feasting, Gen, Kingdoms, Palaces, Poetry, Taskmaster Advent Calendar 2018, Winter Solstice, christmas trees, decorations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 01:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16800712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sashataakheru/pseuds/Sashataakheru
Summary: Taskmaster Advent Calendar Dec 1: Decorationslittle Alex prepares Lord Greg’s royal palace for Christmas.





	A Light In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Because apparently writing 55k words in November wasn't enough of a challenge, I made another bingo card and decided to do it as an Advent calendar throughout December until Christmas Day. There'll be one poem per day, though they might not all get posted every day, depending on how busy I get, but you can find the masterpost for the Taskmaster Advent Calendar [here](https://3evilmuses.dreamwidth.org/83272.html) if you want to see all the prompts together (and some of my shitty Photoshop).
> 
> Poem pattern is [A053572](https://oeis.org/A053672).

It’s that time of year  
When the bitter frost comes too near  
When the air fills with sweet song  
little Alex gets out all the boxes with such utter glee  
little Alex then goes to find the best giant Christmas tree  
To make his master’s palace  
The most festive, the most pretty, the best decorated of all  
Christmas is coming, blessed Advent is here  
The days counting down to Christmas Day  
As families flock, and presents are bought  
As winter sinks in deep  
And so little Alex declared across his master’s mighty new kingdom  
Under the watchful eye of his king, mighty warrior Lord Greg  
Who took such delight in silly things, loved all the joy  
And the decorations that covered the palace  
With bright green and red  
With all manner of sweet incense drifting  
To prepare now for the season, to ward off the chill  
To prepare for a feast, to make new traditions and continue the old  
To prepare to welcome the sun from the depths of the dark cold  
For Lord Greg had ordered  
One big communal feast for his people  
To celebrate together the birth of Sol  
Of Christ, of the sun, from within  
The longest night of the year was approaching, the solstice beckoned  
The dark winter peak approached  
And with it the despair of the land that nobody recognised  
So much had changed, it was unlike it had been before  
Kingdoms broken apart, borders under serious strain  
And so much suffering, unnecessary and grave  
All borne by the poor  
Lord Greg could not stand it, it’s why he had chosen to reclaim  
The sovereignty of the country of Wales, restoring the throne and the crown  
Once and for all to the Welsh, both north and south  
Though the borders were still so very fragile and so fraught  
There were many open wounds  
All over the land, broken open again  
Any healing destroyed, they were bleeding again  
Compounded by austerity, poverty, rations, the riots, and the governments collapsing  
How quickly it fell, and how quickly it became so necessary  
For Lord Greg to rise  
And unite the people under his noble banner, chosen by the Red Dragon  
Out of so many, so many lived  
So many descendants of the old kings  
But only one had the angry heart  
And the sheer courage needed  
To get his hands dirty and bring peace to the land  
And now they were going to rejoice at the sweet peace  
That Lord Greg had brought to them and honoured his vow  
To rule them fairly and with compassion  
Democratic and egalitarian, sharing all  
His was a different kind of kingdom  
He ruled with wisdom and counsel and his prince consort by his side  
little Alex, who humbled himself at his master’s feet, now charged with decorating  
His Majesty’s giant palace for the feasting to come, all would be welcome  
To eat with their king  
And to give counsel to him so  
He knew better what they all required  
To rule them with love and justice  
But then to listen to those with more knowledge than he  
So he would not become  
The tyrant he feared that lived within his heart, in anger  
But he wouldn’t dwell on that, Christmas was coming near, and little Alex was decorating so well  
And in his room where he slept  
Where little Alex decorated with such care  
There stood a giant tree  
So much taller than Lord Greg, it towered so high now  
And decorated brightly with tinsel, and bells, and baubles, and bows  
And upon the hearth there lay now some candles so bright  
A light in the dark for the cold winter to come  
And then with such love  
Hung all the stockings, one by one  
Ready to fill with so many presents  
The biggest for the king, with gold and red, and then his family  
And then came little Alex and his wife, the Prince and Princess Consorts, along with their family  
Sitting just to the right  
And to the left, Lord Greg’s adopted son Prince Asim, with a stocking all of his own  
And then stockings for his beloved Champions  
And all of his special little boys  
But then it was a giant hearth  
To fit so many stockings  
In many rows on the mantle, but Lord Greg did insist  
None would be left out, not now, not when there was  
Such a great need for them to celebrate love and peace  
After the world fell apart around them


End file.
